Naruto: The Uchiha Chronicles Re-Version:
Hey everybody, hope you're having a good day! Welcome to the most recent chapter of Uchiha Chronicles. We get the aftermath of the confrontation with Akatsuki.
The Fifth Hokage:
Chapter 58: We need to find Tsunade!
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The scent of burnt flesh was acrid, but it was the unnatural ebony flames that had Naruto's full attention. He recognized them immediately. He'd read scrolls about the legendary cursed flames. His grandfather had taught him just how deadly they could be. They burned anything they touched and were impossible to extinguish. As Jiraiya stepped forward, Naruto couldn't help but shout a warning.
"Stay back, it's the flames of Amaterasu, they'll burn anything they touch!"
Jiraiya gave him a dry look. "I'm not stupid, brat. Anything that can burn the stomach of the Mountain Toad is to be feared. No, I'll seal them away."
The Sannin took out a large scroll and began to paint a seal. Shaking his head in chagrin, Naruto took a moment to turn to Sasuki. She'd been oddly silent since Itachi released her. The raven-haired girl stared at the flames with a blank expression. The only sign of the turmoil she was going through was the white of her knuckles as she clenched her fist.
"You, okay?"
"He beat me so easily."
No more needed to be said, he'd both watched and helped her train. Sasuki had worked herself to the bone trying to become strong enough to defeat Itachi. To see all those hours of work come to nothing when she finally confronted him, had to be killing her. Naruto placed a comforting hand on her shoulder.
"I know it won't change anything, but you shouldn't beat yourself up. He's an S-ranked shinobi, there's no shame in being weaker than him right now. It won't be that way forever."
Sasuki's shoulders shook under his hand, whether from distress or anger, was impossible to say. She met his gaze, her dark eyes conflicted. She seemed torn between disappointment and confusion. Though the one thing that was abundantly clear; she felt insulted.
"But it is shameful I had to be saved, why'd you step in?"
Naruto couldn't help but snort. "Don't get the wrong idea, it's not like I don't trust your skills. I'm just the only one of us who can break his Mangekyo. At least some good came from Gramps' dying."
The words held a bitter note to them, not directed at his friend, but the pain he still felt. Sasuki winced in shame, though he raised his hand and waved off any attempt to apologize, assuring her he understood. They stood there for a moment, silently contemplating what had just happened. That is, until a disturbance drew their attention back to Jiraiya.
Naruto watched with bemusement as the Sannin took a powerful kick from a very familiar jumpsuit-clad jonin. He gave a snort of laughter as Guy-sensei bowed profusely to a surly Jiraiya, who nursed a swollen cheek.
"What in the hell possessed you to attack me you fool!"
"My apologies Lord Jiraiya. I used my headband to peer around the corner and I saw a suspicious figure standing there. I reacted without thinking."
The Sannin scowled. "Damn right you weren't thinking. Now what the hell brought you here in the first place?"
Guy straightened up. His eyes darted to Sasuki, who met his look with a challenging stare. The jonin shifted uncomfortably.
"Well, when Sasuki took off after hearing where Itachi was headed, I was the fastest who could follow her. We thought it best someone intervene to prevent her from coming to harm."
The black-haired girl looked as if she wanted to protest, but she bit her tongue. Likely, she was embarrassed because there was a chance she'd actually needed saving.
Jiraiya folded his arms and harumphed. "So, what exactly did Itachi get up to in the Leaf? He mentioned Kakashi."
"Four of us confronted them, the four jonin-sensei for the youngest teams. During the fight Itachi locked Kakashi in some kind of powerful genjutsu. Last I heard, he still hasn't regained consciousness."
Naruto took the news of Kakashi's condition hard–it was obvious he'd been caught in Itachi's Tsukuyomi. All because the elder Uchiha was looking for Naruto himself. Nobody had said anything since Guy's reveal, and Naruto found himself a little apart from the jonin and Sasuki, standing with his teacher.
"Jiraiya, can Tsunade help Kakashi recover faster? When Sasuki got trapped in it when we were kids, it took her over a month to wake up. And that was when it was new. It's probably stronger now."
The Sannin nodded. "That's well within her abilities. Tsunade's the best medic around, even in healing dealing with the brain."
"Then not to cut this short, but we need to get searching for her."
"Fine, then say your goodbyes."
As he went to bid Sasuki goodbye, Naruto hesitated. With their recent fight so fresh in his mind, he was hesitant to delay in telling her about what Itachi revealed. There just wasn't enough time–or privacy, for that matter–to bring it up now. Still, he had to say something. So, as Guy and Jiraiya bid each other goodbye, he pulled Sasuki in close.
"When I get back, we need to talk about Itachi."
"What about him?" she asked sharply.
"He said something while we were in that genjutsu. Well, more like confirmed something. I didn't bring it up cause I wasn't sure I believed it. But it's about the Uchiha clan there are … things you don't know, about our history."
Sasuki looked thoroughly unsatisfied with his vague answer. "What exactly is that supposed to mean?" She pinned him with a gaze that demanded answers.
It took all his willpower, but Naruto managed to shake his head. "We can discuss it when I get back, in private." He jerked his head meaningfully at the older shinobi.
Though clearly upset, Sasuki silently accepted his reasoning. Finally done bidding fair well, Guy called out to her from the end of the hallway.
"Come, young Sasuki. We must return to the village."
Sasuki nodded, silently following the jonin as they trailed to the end of the hallway. As they stood there, Jiraiya offered his fellow jonin one last comment.
"We'll try to be back as soon as possible. It sounds like Kakashi could use Tsunade's skills. It's even more important we find her."
They parted ways, with Sasuki and Guy disappearing into the bustling streets. After they were gone, Jiraiya turned to him with a grimace. "Come on, we have to explain to the front desk why they have a massive hole in their wall, not looking forward to that. Honestly, I'm a bit surprised nobody has come to investigate yet."
As expected, the hotel was none too pleased about the damage. After a rather large check from Jiraiya, though, they were allowed to stay.
The two Leaf shinobi retreated to their room, where Naruto was quick to create a barrier to block sound from getting through. Afterwords, he turned to pin a bemused Jiraiya with his sapphire eyes. He'd bitten his tongue while they dealt with the aftermath, but now he wanted answers. It hadn't escaped Naruto's notice that Jiraiya seemed to be aware of the group Itachi and Kisame belonged to; a group that happened to be hunting jinchuriki. Alarm bells were going off in his head.
"Something you want, brat?"
"What exactly is Akatsuki, you said they were after the Nine Tails, so I wanna know everything you know about them." Wanted, perhaps, wasn't the right word. Needed was much more accurate. He shook his head, trying to rid himself of the haunting image of a gloved hand approaching his face.
Jiraiya, for his part, seemed unaware of his inner turmoil. "I guess it's fair for you to want to know." The Sannin sat back on his bed, his normally jovial face very serious. The hard lines made him look every bit of his fifty-six years. "I found out about Akatsuki around six years ago. It was just rumors at first, a group of S-ranked criminals working in pairs. Frankly I was only interested in them because Orochimaru was among their number at the time. Their numbers weren't completely certain. The accounts varied, but one thing remained consistent. Black robes with red clouds.
"Eventually, I learned there were at least eight, though I suspect there may be a couple working behind the scenes. They quickly gained a reputation for taking missions at dirt cheap prices. Need a government overthrown? Akatsuki could do it. Want someone dead? They'd do that too. Frankly, they've been wreaking havoc in the minor villages. Then, a year ago, I heard the first whispers that they were interested in the Tailed Beasts. They haven't made a move yet, but I believe they plan to gather all of them. For what, I don't know. Sarutobi-sensei seemed to have some idea, but we never got a chance to speak about it before he died."
The blood drained from Naruto's face, he felt slightly cold. He'd always known the masked man was out there somewhere, plotting. To him there could be no other explanation for the existence of the Akatsuki. Unable to stand, he sat down heavily on his bed.
"They want to revive the Ten-Tails."
"The what?" Jiraiya asked sharply.
"The Ten Tails, the tailed beast all the others were made from." Naruto sat and explained what he knew of the history of the Tailed Beasts, as well as the Eye of the Moon plan. Obviously the Tailed Beasts were needed, as well as the Statue of the Outer Path. However, the most important–and hardest to find–part, was the Rinnegan. His grandfather had remained somewhat vague about the details, but he knew the DNA of the Senju and Uchiha was needed, as well as a fully evolved Sharingan.
"Good news is, making the Rinnegan is hard, especially now. I wonder how they plan to get around that."
He was quite confident nobody could retrieve his grandfather's eyes. Madara had placed a seal on his body before death that would destroy the eyes if anyone tried to tamper with his corpse. Naruto glanced at Jiraiya, who had fallen awfully silent. To his surprise, the Sannin looked as if he'd seen a ghost.
"I've come across someone with the Rinnegan before. An old student. If what you said is true, then somebody must have implanted them into him, he was an Uzumaki."
The breath was stolen from Naruto's lungs. He stood up and began to pace restlessly.
"They have to have the Rinnegan then. It's the only reason they'd begin making moves. This isn't good. We have to find Tsunade as quickly as possible. If we're lucky, we have a matter of years before they can fully move forward. I have to start training, much more intensely."
"We can get started in the morning. For now, we both need rest." Jiraiya said firmly.
Naruto nodded, though very reluctantly. He loathed to wait even a moment longer. It suddenly felt like he had the weight of the world on his shoulders. He settled in for a very fitful night of sleep.
A dark cavern hung overhead, it stretched high, disappearing into shadows. The cavern needed to be so tall, to contain the hideous statue. It was a twisted thing, legs folded like a butterfly, its elbows on its knees, thrusting its hands into the air with fingers outstretched, the statue seemed to be caught in the midst of a scream of agony. A cloth wrap went around its eyes.
Ten figures stood atop the fingertips, as a glowing blue miasma came from the mouth, enveloping a small figure. Red chakra was being sucked from the figure. They were extracting a tailed beast.
Naruto stifled a gasp, as he recognized Gaara as the one having his tailed beast extracted.
Though no noise left his lips, one of the figures turned towards him. A single sharingan glared in the darkness, it's crimson light pinning him.
"Don't worry, you'll be next."
A sharp gasp escaped Naruto's lips, as he shot up in bed. The room was dark, only a sliver of neon light peeking through the curtains. Across the room, Jiraiya muttered something in his sleep and shifted. Naruto calmed his breathing, trying to steady his pounding heart. It was just a dream.
The next morning, Naruto felt a bit sluggish at first. His sleep hadn't been much better after he fell back asleep. He quiet as he went about getting ready. Jiraiya noticed his quiet demeanor but said nothing.
He had to force himself to get up and take a shower. After the refreshing hot spray had revived him, Naruto got out and stood in front of the bathroom counter to stare into the mirror. There were dark circles under his eyes. He let out a sigh, grabbing a hair tie before twisting his spiky hair into the typical high ponytail, spiky bangs framing his angular face. After that he shrugged on a fresh kimono top with the purple-grey inseam and border, and black shinobi pants, before fastening the white Anbu arm guards on his forearms, covering the blue dragon tattoo on his right arm.
Once he was finished, having fastened his sash and tucked Senbonzakura in, Naruto returned to the main room, where Jiraiya waited, already packed and ready to go with his large scroll at his back.
"We need a better plan to find Tsunade." Naruto said bluntly.
Jiraiya crossed his arms. "Got any suggestions kid?"
"Yeah, first, I need a picture of Tsunade. Then I'll create some clones. They can spread out and search quicker than we can. If they use sensing, it should be pretty easy to find her. Not many people have chakra levels like a Sannin."
The elder man smirked, reaching into his hip pouch, and bringing out a photo. "Oh, you sure you don't have other reasons for wanting the photo?"
He snatched the photo from the sage, not deigning his teasing with a reply. When he flipped it over, he saw the image of a beautiful woman. She had fair skin, and long, honey-blonde hair, with a rather bold amount of decolletage shown by her grey kimono top under a green haori. He'd be lying if he said she wasn't attractive, but Naruto focused on memorizing her features.
"One-hundred and six centimeters, by the way." Jiraiya chimed in helpfully.
Naruto looked at the old man oddly, until the meaning hit him, his face burned. "I'm memorizing her face, ya pervy sage!" He thrust the picture back into Jiraiya's hands. "She looks kind of young, though, ain't she supposed to be your age?"
"Tsunade isn't one to age gracefully. She likes to use a transformation to look younger. Not to mention, it helps her skip out on debts when she needs to."
"Well, now that I know what she looks like, I can find her easier. Let's get going."
Jiraiya harumphed but turned and began to walk towards the West side of town. The bustling pleasure district fell away, and much quieter streets with simple houses used by the people who lived in the town appeared as they reached the edge of town. There, Naruto created twenty clones, putting more chakra in them than really needed so they would last longer. The clones appeared in puffs of smoke, and Naruto was staring at twenty perfect copies of himself.
"Spread out, and search for Tsunade. If you spot her, dispel immediately." He ordered.
The clones nodded as one, before shooting off. Their black kimono tops whipped in the breeze, blond hair trailing like banners as they shot off in every direction.
"Well, we might as well find a good place to make camp." Jiraiya said with a sigh, rubbing the back of his neck tiredly.
He nodded in agreement. They searched for a suitable place, eventually settling on a quiet hollow a little off the road. After setting up their tents and eating a quick meal of fish and rice–the fish caught in a nearby stream–they retreated into their respective tents silently. Naruto unfurled his bed roll silently, listening to the quiet crackle of the dying fire as he spread his blanket out.
'Brat, we need to talk.'
Naruto quirked an eyebrow. It was unusual for the Fox to instigate a meeting. Nevertheless, he sat cross legged on his bedding, and let himself fall into the familiar meditative trance that let him retreat into his seal. When he opened his eyes, it was to the soft golden light of his seal. He blinked to clear the pricks of light from his eyes, before turning his gaze to meet the fox's bored eyes.
"What's up?"
"If you really want to challenge that Akatsuki, you'll have to focus on using my chakra more effectively. Just look at that fish-faced bastard, he had more chakra than you even when you aren't restraining your power. It's about time you started making strides controlling more tails, four just isn't enough."
He nodded readily enough. The fox made a fair point. He hadn't made any progress in controlling more than four tails. He'd been more focused on training his own abilities. As he'd promised the fox, he didn't want his power to be a crutch. Though there wasn't much he could do in the middle of a mission.
"You've got a point. I'll start working on it after this mission is complete."
A rumbling growl rolled through the fox. It was hard to tell if it was born of agreement, or annoyance, was impossible to tell.
"Very well, but don't take too long."
Annoyance, then. "Got it. I'm gonna get some sleep. No telling when a clone will pop."
Naruto bid the fox goodbye, before letting his consciousness slip from the seal and opening his eyes. He shivered; it was cool. Summer was ending, and it showed in how chilly the nights were becoming. He quickly switched off the lamp and crawled under his covers to turn in for the night. His eyes slowly closed, and his breath stilled as he drifted off.
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That night, Naruto had a pleasant dream about Ichiraku and Kintaku merging. The next morning, the two of them decided to stay in place. There wasn't much point in leaving until they got word from one of his clones. Doing that would risk wasting time.
Naruto had just finished off cleaning up after lunch, when a sudden flood of memories interrupted his sleep. The sun shone brightly on a sign outside a hotel. The sign read "Tanzaku Doubletree". He spotted the target. Even half a mile away, his sharingan made out her features perfectly. Her photos didn't do her justice. Currently, she looked troubled, as a little piglet and an anxious woman with short black hair followed behind her while she weaved through the crowd. But there was something else, something worrying. A dark, sinister chakra, only a mile from them. The feel of it stirred a burning anger.
'Gotta tell boss, found her in Tanzaku Town.'
Naruto stood up, heart beating wildly as he tried to collect his jumbled thoughts. Crouched over a recently made fire with a teapot hanging over it, Jiraiya looked at him bemusedly.
"What's got you all in a tizzy?"
"I found Tsunade, in Tanzaku Town." The sannin's eyes widened, he broke out into a grin, and opened his mouth to comment. But Naruto's next words stole that excitement. "That's not all. Orochimaru is near her."
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Well, what do you think? The arc is heating up! With no training to do, and a stronger motive for wrapping it up, Naruto's cut down the search time for Tsunade. How will things turn out with Orochimaru lurking? Chapter 62 of this is out on pa treon, as well as Chapter 4 of the new Naruto/Avatar story.
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RinneTaicho, Signing Off!